First-of-a-Kind Study Finds Outpatient Joint Replacement Patients "As Satisfied" -- If Not More -- Than Inpatients

CHICAGO, Aug. 8, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- A new study found that joint replacement patients who go home the day of surgery are as happy—if not happier—than those who remain in the hospital. This is the first study to examine patient satisfaction when patients are given a choice between same-day discharge from the hospital or being admitted for an overnight stay in the hospital.

The study was presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons annual meeting. It was led by Richard Berger, M.D., orthopedic surgeon at Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush, who has performed more than 10,000 outpatient joint replacement surgeries -- more than any other physician in the country. His team included: Chris Culvern, Director of Research for Joint Replacement, Rush University Medical Center; Gregory Manista, M.D, Clinical Research Coordinator at Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush; and orthopedic fellows Vasili Karas, M.D. and Linda Suleiman, M.D.

Each patient had the same surgeon, hospital, anesthetist and nurse. The only difference was whether the patient went home day of surgery or chose to stay overnight. Patients were monitored for pre-operative pain, age, gender, marital status, job status, and distance traveled to surgery.

The researchers anticipated patients choosing to remain in the hospital overnight would be happier. Instead, they found the overall satisfaction rate of those leaving day of surgery exceeded those staying overnight.

Dr. Berger notes, "The research shows that patients like to be given a choice, and while the clinical outcomes are excellent for both, joint replacement patients are happier when they return to the comfort of home."

One of Dr. Berger's patient's, Judy Ryan of Burr Ridge, Illinois, was one of the first joint replacement patients to do outpatient surgery. "It was a pleasure to walk out of the surgery center and sleep in my own bed," she admits. "I recuperated much faster than my friends who had inpatient joint replacement surgery and was playing golf three weeks post surgery."

The 'same day' patients were also happy with the pain management protocol and communication about medications. "When asked how often the medical team explained what each medication was for, we found 93% of patients discharged the same day were happy with the communication process," Dr. Berger says.

SOURCE Richard Berger, M.D